The Adolescent Brain

The adolescent stage is the time during which children mature to become adults physically, socially, intellectually, and hormonally. “Along with the rest of the body, the brain changes during adolescence, but the study of adolescent brain development is still in its infancy” (Santrock, 2018, p344). All though, the size of the brain does not grow during adolescence but it undergoes changes that influence their behavior. Some of those significant developmental changes in the brain happened in the Prefrontal cortex or judgment region that is responsible for planning, prioritizing, and controlling impulses and emotions. According to new research, the brain for girls reaches its largest size around 11 years old and boys around age 14 but that doesn’t mean their brain is done maturing (Jones, 2019). The brain for both girls and boys may be at its largest but it doesn’t finish developing and maturing until their mid to late 20s.

As a medical educator, I would teach my group of parents about "acting out". What is it?

It’s a behavior that is usually caused by suppressed or denied feelings or emotions so there for some adolescents act out to release or reduce stress. What are some of the causes of acting out? Attention issues, self-esteem, desire for power, personality disorders, environment, nutritional status, sleep patterns, pharmacotherapy, etc. Adolescent decisions are not always defined by impulsivity because of lack of brakes, but because of planned and enjoyable pressure to the accelerator (Jones, 2019)........... Document Continue